Save the date for our 50th anniversary annual meetingAAA-CPAJoin us for our 50th anniversary celebration, July 2-7, in beautiful Huntington Beach, Calif. Huntington Beach, known as Surf City due to its abundance of beaches, sunny, warm Mediterranean climate, local surfing and casual lifestyle, is a perfect vacation experience for both young and old. Bring the whole family for a wonderful vacation.
Click here for hotel information and for a tentative schedule of events.

Don't miss an exciting new study group!AAA-CPAGet your CPE/CLE credit by attending one of our one-hour teleconferences from the comfort of your own office. On Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. EST, Minimizing the Impact of the 3.8 Percent Medicare Surtax on Estates and Trusts will be presented by Jere Doyle of BNY Mellon Wealth Management. To register for this study group, click here.

In memoriamAAA-CPAWe are sorry to inform you all of the passing of Mike Leone, treasurer of the Florida association. Unfortunately, Leone died in a tragic ski accident while visiting family in Utah. Services were held on Sunday, Feb. 2, at the Star of David funeral home in Florida. An article appeared Thursday, Jan. 30, in the Palm Beach Post regarding our loss. Please click here to read more. Though services have already been held, Shivah will be held until Thursday, Feb. 6, at 5:30 p.m. at 1117 Marine Way East, Apartment K2, North Palm Beach, Fla., for anyone able to attend.

Federal tax update — January by David S. De Jong, Esq., CPA, Stein Sperling Bennett De Jong Driscoll PCIn Ibrahim v. Commissioner, the tax court determined that a taxpayer married to his brother's widow who incorrectly filed using head of household status could not change to a married filing joint return after he received a Notice of Deficiency and filed a petition with the tax court.

Most tax-friendly states for retireesMarketWatch When it comes to finding a state to which to retire, there are plenty of factors to consider.
There's the weather, proximity to family and friends, access to health care, quality of life and the list goes on, according to CCH, Wolters Kluwer.

IRS kicks off tax season for individual returnsAccounting Today The Internal Revenue Service has begun accepting individual tax returns. The IRS postponed the beginning of tax season this year until Jan. 31 due to the two-week federal government shutdown, which delayed the testing and implementation of some of its computer systems.

Governors' tax plans get pushback from their own partiesStateline Relatively rolling in dough for the first time in half a decade, governors are calling for tax cuts, increased spending on education and infrastructure, or filling up "rainy day" funds. Some are getting pushback from an unusual corner — lawmakers of their own parties.

Julius Baer misses profit view as US tax probe weighsReuters Julius Baer suffered a double blow as yearly earnings fell short of expectations, and clients transferring from recently acquired Merrill funds were set to reach only the low end of its target range.
Shares in the private bank, which had hit an all-time peak late last month, were down some 5 percent after the results and traded at 41.85 Swiss francs by 1210 GMT.

Some states are moving to loosen their estate taxesThe New York Times For most of the United States, the estate tax is now something only the very wealthy have to plan for. The federal exemption for an individual this year is now $5.34 million, or $10.68 million for a married couple. And that amount is indexed to inflation, so it will continue to rise.

How is bitcoin taxed? The IRS doesn't knowNational Journal How do you tax bitcoins? Apparently, not even the Internal Revenue Service knows.
Internet forums like Reddit and bitcointalk.org are exploding with questions about how users of the increasingly popular virtual currency should fill out their tax forms this year.

Obama re-ups corporate tax reform callPoliticoPresident Barack Obama gave a brief nod to corporate tax reform during the State of the Union speech, saying that overhauling the corporate side of the tax code would make the "decision easier for more companies" to hire and grow within the U.S.
"Both Democrats and Republicans have argued that our tax code is riddled with wasteful, complicated loopholes that punish businesses investing here and reward companies that keep profits abroad," Obama said.

US IRS chief: No delay in tax-dodger lawReutersThe chief of the Internal Revenue Service said that a new law meant to fight offshore tax dodging by Americans will not be delayed again beyond its July 1 effective date, despite a clamor among banks asking for more time and guidance.
"We're not going to have any delays," IRS Commissioner John Koskinen told reporters on a conference call.

Taxpayer Advocate: IRS finds customer service taxingThe Washington Post If you have a question for the Internal Revenue Service that you think can be answered over the phone, think again.
Last year, more than 100 million calls were placed to the tax-collection agency. Nearly 20 million of them went unanswered. Those who did get through were put on hold for an average of almost 18 minutes.